THE Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) urged local government units (LGUs) on Thursday, December 10, 2021, to recognize and accept either LGU-issued vaccination cards or VaxCertPH digital certificates for domestic travel.

DILG spokesperson Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said LGU-issued vaccination cards in lieu of VaxCertPH digital certificate will suffice since the VaxCertPH program is still under soft launch.

He said VaxCertPH is currently operational for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and Filipinos traveling abroad only, and is not a requirement for domestic travel under regulations issued by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging Infectious Diseases.

“We cannot require all domestic travelers to present VaxCertPH just yet since the program is still in its soft launch. We, therefore, advise all LGUs to accept both: the VaxCertPH digital copy or the LGU-issued vaccination card, whichever is available, until such time that the program is fully operational,” he said in a statement.

“There is no need for a certification from the LGU to accompany these documents,” Malaya added.

Malaya said there were still vaccination information from various LGUs that were not yet uploaded into the Vaccine Operations Reporting System (VORS).

He also urged LGUs to fast-track the submission of vaccination records in order to make the program fully operational.

VaxCertPH is the official digital vaccination certificate for Filipinos and foreigners vaccinated in the Philippines that may be used for international and domestic travel.

It complies with the World Health Organization Digital Documentation of Covid-19 Certificates guidelines. (SunStar Philippines)